An Cafe
Antic Cafe (アンティック-珈琲店- Antikku Kafe, nicknamed An Cafe) is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 2003 and signed to the independent label Loop Ash. They are an oshare kei band, but now describe themselves as "Harajuku Dance Rock". The group has released five full-length albums and three EPs. On September 1, 2009, the band announced that after their live on January 4, 2010, at the Nippon Budokan, they will be suspending activities and put the group on a hiatus, however they have stated they will not be disbanding. History An Cafe was formed in May 2003 by vocalist Miku, guitarist Bou and bassist Kanon. Miku's former band, Revirii, had disbanded two months earlier in April, and even though the band did not have a drummer at this point, they started to perform at several events. They were later joined by Teruki after he left his former band, Feathers-Blue. In 2004, An Cafe released their first demos and signed a record deal with Loop Ash. Their first release, "Candyholic", was released in March and reached the second spot on the Oricon indies single chart. The band continued touring and releasing, including their first album, Shikisai Moment, in 2005. The band released even more singles in 2006 until their second studio album, Magnya Carta (a play on "Magna Carta"). In 2007, the band announced their first overseas appearance at Project A-Kon. The announcement of this was followed shortly by the departure of guitarist Bou. The last performance with Bou was on April 30, 2007, and was featured in a DVD titled Hibiya On ☆The☆ 0 New Sekai. After Bou left the band, two new members were announced: Takuya was to replace Bou as the guitarist and Yu-ki was to join An Cafe as a keyboardist. The first single with their new lineup was announced as "Kakusei Heroism" followed by "Ryūsei Rocket". At the end of 2007, An Cafe announced their first overseas tour, taking place in Europe in 2008. In the opening weeks of 2008, An Cafe announced their upcoming single, "Cherry Saku Yuki!!", in February, as well as their next studio album, Gokutama Rock Cafe, which was released on April 9, 2008. An Cafe's EP, Harajuku Dance Rock, was released by the Los Angeles based Maru Music on March 13, 2009. This special release was made exclusively for overseas fans in North America and Europe. BB Parallel World, An Cafe's fourth studio album, was released in Japan on September 9, 2009; and in Europe on October 2, 2009. It contains title track singles "Aroma", "Summer Dive" and "Natsu Koi ★ Natsu Game", and eight other songs. In 2010, An Cafe announced that they will be taking a break from activities. It is unknown as to how long they will be on hiatus, but they have not stated they will be disbanding. The message, issued on their official homepage, claims that "after the Budokan show, each member will concentrate on their own activity to be prepared for the band to restart in the future." The aforementioned Nippon Budokan show took place on January 4, 2010. In wake of the hiatus, several members are now involved in other projects. Kanon is heading a mobile phone game called Pinky☆Distortion, which is to be released in July 2010. He will also be a guest at Otakon 2010 as a panelist and a guest DJ, as well as pairing up with Kanon Wakeshima to form a duo act called kanonxkanon. Miku is serving as the vocalist for the new visual-kei band, Lc5, which started in June 2010. Teruki is playing as a support drummer for the band DOG in the parallel world orchestra. Band Members *Miku (みく) – Vocals (2003–now) *Takuya (タクヤ) – Guitar (2007–now) *Kanon (カノン) – Bass (2003–now) *Yu-ki (ゆうき Yūki) – Keyboard (2007–now) *Teruki (輝喜) – Drums (2003–now) Former Members *Bou (坊) - Guitar (2003–2007) Equipment Yu-ki (keyboards) uses a Korg X50 and a Yamaha MO6 in a firm Ultimate AX48B rack. His speaker is a Roland Jazz-Chorus 120 and he has a Mackie 1202-VLZ PRO mixing panel as well. A lot of functions are used, for instance the excessive use of pitch bend in Respect Mommy on the Yamaha MO6 and the use of his arpeggiator (on the Yamaha MO6 as well) in Cherry Saku Yuki!!. Takuya (guitar) uses a White-brown Fender, a Paul Reed Smith, a G&L Telecaster, a Dean and some stompboxes, including the Boss Super Chorus and MXR/Phase 90. Kanon (bass) uses two kinds of Fender Jazz Basses, a EBS/Multi Comp and a Basson speaker. Teruki (drums) has the following setup: one Splash Cymbal (Paiste 10"), two Crash Cymbals (Paiste 16" and 18") Cymbals, one China Cymbal (Paiste 18"), one Ride Cymbal (Zildjian 20"), one Hi-Hat (Zildjian 14"), one Hi-Hat stand (Pearl), a Bass Drum (Pearl 22" x 16"), a Snare (Pearl 14" x 5,5"), one Mid Tom (Pearl 12" x 8"), one Floor Tom (Pearl 16" x 16"), two Pedals (Pearl) and Behringer amplification Endorsements An Cafe has been a long time supporter and endorser of popular Japanese fashion label Sex Pot Revenge, and they are frequently seen wearing clothing from that label. They have appeared on the cover of Sex Pot Revenge free company magazine, V!nyl Syndicate. In 2008, An Cafe vocalist Miku hosted Volume 2 of Visual Kei DVD Magazine alongside the magazine's mascot, Biju. International recognition An Cafe has gained great success in Japan. It has also gained moderate success in Europe, mainland Asia (Korea, China), Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Canada and the United States. In 2008, the band visited Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, Spain, the US, and Korea on their first overseas tour, "Live Cafe-Tour '08 - Nyappy Go Around World". They played a total of twelve concerts in the eight countries. As of November 2008, An Cafe confirmed an overseas tour, "Live Cafe Tour '09 Nyappy Go Around the World Ⅱ -Harajuku Dance Rock Night-" which encompassed twelve countries: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and the USA. This tour took place over March and April, playing a total of 17 dates. Discography ;Albums *''Shikisai Moment'' (色彩モーメント, November 9, 2005) *''Magnya Carta'' (マグニャカルタ, November 29, 2006) *''Gokutama Rock Cafe'' (極魂ROCK CAFE, April 9, 2008) *''BB Parallel World'' (September 9, 2009) *''AN CAFE BEST ALBUM'' (December 9, 2009) *Amazing Blue ( August 8, 2012) *Hikagyaku ZiprocK ( November 6,2013) *Rough・Song ( February 22,2017) ;EPs *''Amedama Rock'' (飴玉ロック, February 23, 2005) *''Ko Akuma Usagi no Koibumi to Machine Gun EP'' (小悪魔USAGIの恋文とマシンガンe.p., October 29, 2008) *''Harajuku Dance Rock'' (March 13, 2009) *"Candyholic" (キャンデーホリック, March 24, 2004) *"√69" (June 6, 2004) *"Komou Cosmos" (孤妄, November 24, 2004) *"Karakuri Hitei" (カラクリ否定, March 30, 2005) *"Tekesuta Kousen" (テケスタ光線, July 20, 2005) *"Escapism" (エスカピズム, August 24, 2005) *"Merrymaking" (メリメイキング, September 21, 2005) *"10’s Collection March" (10's コレクション マァチ, March 1, 2006) *"Bonds ~Kizuna~" (BondS ～絆～, May 17, 2006) *"Smile Ichiban Ii Onna" (スマイル一番 イイ♀, September 20, 2006) *"Snow Scene" (スノーシ一ン, October 18, 2006) *"Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without a "Name"~" (覚醒ヒロイズム～THE HERO WITHOUT A "NAME"～, August 22, 2007) *"Ryūsei Rocket" (流星ロケット, November 7, 2007) *"Cherry Saku Yuki!!" (Cherry咲く勇気!!, February 27, 2008) *"Summer Dive" (August 30, 2008, live distribution only) *"Aroma" (March 11, 2009) *"Natsu Koi ★ Natsu Game" (夏恋★夏GAME, August 12, 2009) *アンティック－珈琲店－　『アメージングブルー』(july 2012) *Bee myself Bee yourself ( ～自分らしく君らしく生まれたストーリーは始まってんだ～ June 2013 ) *NO PAIN,NO LOVE? (june 2013) *「狼MAN ～Let's make precious love～」(july 2013) *「千年DIVE!!!!!」(August 2015) *JIBUN ( april 2016 ) *Atsuku Nare (熱くなれ) ( september 2016 ) *Ikiru Tame no 3Byou Ru-le (生きるための3秒ルール) ( september 2016) ;DVDs *"Like an cafe" (ライカ・カフェ, October 10, 2004) *"20051203 Shikisai A On" (20051203色彩亜音, December 3, 2005) *"Yagai de nyappy" (野外でニャッピー, December 17, 2006) *"Hibiya on ★the★ o New World" (HIBIYA ON★ザ★御NEW世界, July 2, 2007) *"Nyappy Go Around Fever" (April 25, 2008) *"AnCafesta '08 Summer Dive" (December 24, 2008) *"Live Cafe - Tour '08 Nyappy Go Around the World" (March 11, 2009) *"Finale of Nyappy - Kawayusu Rock de Go Gogo!!" (November 4, 2009) *"Live Cafe 2010 King of Harajuku Dance Rock Ikinari Nyappy Legend" (August 22, 2010) External links *Official website *Official blog *Artist database+ bei musicJAPAN+ (english)